Veteran getting back into vaping...need advice

[spaceballsrules]

Hey all. It's been a while. I quit vaping and smoking altogether some time ago, but I slipped back into smoking cigarettes, so I am returning to vaping. Unfortunately, I got rid of all of my old equipment, and between the new devices available and the new laws, the entire landscape of vaping has completely changed since I last saw. I feel like a total newbie.

Right now, I am using Njoy and Vuse devices from the gas station to get me started, but I was looking into maybe upgrading. My previous setup was an eLeaf iStick 30W with a Kanger EVOD tank. I built my own coils with Kanthal and Cotton Bacon at 1.6 ohms, and I would vape that at 8.0 watts. I was a tootle puffer, for sure. I mixed my own juice, and I got plenty of flavor and plentiful clouds.

Mixing juice these days has its own challenges, but I think I have that figured out as far as finding nicotine base. The issue is with the hardware. I could go to my old setup, but finding the devices and tanks are a bit difficult, so if anyone knows where to get it, let me know. Some places refuse to even ship to me. What's that about?

For now, I will be jailbreaking the Njoy and Vuse pods and refilling them. Are there better alternatives? I'd prefer not to rebuild coils for the time being, so what is a good system that has affordable replacement coils/pods that will be readily available for the near future? I will be carrying the device in my pocket, so smaller is preferred, and I would like an on/off feature.

Thanks in advance!

 

[AngeNZ]

For a smaller internal battery device, the Innokin Kroma-Z. The z-coils last, have great flavour and should remain widely available. Plus you can get a 510 adapter, and turn it into a mod if needed later.

A larger external battery device - look at the Innokin Coolfire z80 kit. It comes with the Zenith II tank, which also takes z-coils.

 

[BNEAT]

^what she said

 

[Hawise]

You might want to consider two options:

• An open-system pod mod, if you're relatively happy with the Vuse and such you're using now. I'm not familiar enough with the options to make a recommendation here, but there are plenty of choices designed to work with your own preferred juice and use replaceable coils and pods.
• An MTL/tootle puffer system, if you'd prefer something similar to your old setup. In that case, I'd recommend following @AngeNZ's advice - Innokin's a reliable brand and its Zenith is very popular.

Good luck!

 

[Letitia]

The eleaf istick 30w are still available at FastTech I know. Takes awhile to get them since they come by boat via the Netherlands. Can't help with the evods.
+ 1 for the innokin recommendations, great products.

 

[spaceballsrules]

Considering the price of the coils, I am better off just sticking with the nJoy. $3 per pod, plus a bonus 2ml of juice. The batteries are only 99¢. Maybe I should just look at rebuilding coils again.

Every website I try to order from, I get a message saying they can't ship to my state. Looks like I will need to go a brick & mortar shop and look around. It's insane how quickly the laws are changing, and in the very wrong direction.

@Letitia Finding the Kanger EVOD tanks is the issue I am running into. Nobody sells them anymore.

 

[Letitia]

Considering the price of the coils, I am better off just sticking with the nJoy. $3 per pod, plus a bonus 2ml of juice. The batteries are only 99¢. Maybe I should just look at rebuilding coils again.

Every website I try to order from, I get a message saying they can't ship to my state. Looks like I will need to go a brick & mortar shop and look around. It's insane how quickly the laws are changing, and in the very wrong direction.

@Letitia Finding the Kanger EVOD tanks is the issue I am running into. Nobody sells them anymore.

The only kanger I'm familiar with is the subtank mini, is the evod a similar draw? If you describe the evod we could help you find comparable rtas. Wire and wick are still cheap and easily resourced.

 

[mcduffy]

Evod tanks are available here, but I don't know if they'll ship to your state.
E Cigarette USA Online e Cigs Store | e Cig USA Vape Shop

I prefer the GS-H5 which uses the same coil, but I find it more durable.
e Cigarette Vaporizer | GS-H5 Clearomizers | e Veporizer

I pair it with either the Smok Zmax or Periscope.
SmokTech Mini Zmax Starter Kit( FINAL SALE) - $12.99 - VP Distributions & Wholesale Supplier

SmokTech Telescopic Periscope MOD( FINAL SALE) - $3.99 - VP Distributions & Wholesale Supplier

Evod starter kit here:
Kanger EVOD Starter Kit

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

You won't be able to use the EVOD on those devices above because they are all version 1 with no ego threading. You'll need to buy a 510-to-510/ego adapter.

Also the Periscopes are so old they have dry rotted 510 positive insulators. I have many from them. The Zmax seem to be OK though. I have many from them. I prefer the zmax mini kits as they are lighter and slimmer anyhow. Like teh Periscope, they can be run with an 18650 or 18350 battery.

My previous setup was an eLeaf iStick 30W with a Kanger EVOD tank

Lightfire (aka kangerwholesaleusa.com) is a wholesaler that also retails (for now). Shipping's about $9 for any order. They also have a sale going on this weekend for 7% off coupon code ELF7

When you sign up for an account, select "no" for "resale customer".

Eleaf Istick 30W - $28 - these are most likely the "simple kits" so they do not come with the 510-to-510/ego adapter like the full kits used to. ALl you'll get is the mod and the USB cable. You'll need to buy a 510-to-510/ego adapter.

Authentic Kanger Evods - 5-pack - $18 (yes, they are authentic, I bought many from them). The ones linked to above are clones, but they are fine, only difference is they airflow is slightly looser than the authentic)

Authentic EVOD/Protank 1&2 Coils
Old version with silica wick - $2.65/5-pk
New version (called SOCC) with cotton wick - $3.05/5-pk
Other than the wick material, there is no difference. The SOCC can be rebuilt the same way as the old style, same frame and everything. But since the SOCC is a cotton wick, you cannot dry burn them to clean them as the cotton will just burn up. Of course, if you rebuild them with silica wicks you can dry burn all you want lol. The cotton wicks taste much better IMHO. I bought many from them.

 

[DaveOno]

Hey all. It's been a while.

Welcome back, SBR! It's been a while.
Not much to add to assist you in your quest. But we all agree, the vape landscape has been nuked, for sure.
But where there's a will, there's a way.
(and I probably shouldn't suggest the "not light" market that will become more of a player, so I won't)

Best of luck, space!

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

BTW: Fasttech in china sells premade coils that can be used to rebuild protank/EVOD coil heads. I have many. They are NR-R-NR coils, which is preferable for rebuilding coil heads with long-legged coils. $2.00-$2.50 per 50-pack depending on resistance. Range from 1.5 ohms to 2.8 ohms.

$2.11 Pre-Coiled Welded Wires - NR-R-NR (50-Pack) 50-pack - 32 AWG / 1.5ohm / 30*30mm at FastTech - Free Shipping

 

[Territoo]

Here is a link to Fasttech's Innokin coolfire z80/zenith 2 kit. It may take a few weeks to ship to you, but it will ship no matter what state you live in.

$53.54 Innokin Coolfire Z80 80W VW Box Mod + Zenith II Tank Kit - authentic / 5.5ml / 0.8ohm/0.3ohm / 6-80W / 1*18650 at FastTech - Free Shipping

 

[Tor R]

Hello and welcome back,
I also post a recommendation on the Innokin Coolfire Z80 kit.
Since you enjoyed building your own, pod kits should be less relevant.
One I have been interested in though is the Aspire Prime X, especially after they came with the Nautilus Mesh 1 ohm coil. Yes, equipment can be purchased so you can build yourself there, rda, and also rdta.
There is a lot of good that has come in the meantime since you last vaped, so take the time to see what you like about new products.
As I said, I think Aspire and Innokin will be with us for many more years, especially on the coil side.

 

[charlie1465]

I have to agree with others here who suggested the Innokin Coolfire Z80 kit. The drop in coils are excellent and it will fit in a pocket with no issues. The adjustable airflow adjust from a really tight draw right up to a DL draw so you will be able to dial in your exact preference.

There are lots of rebuildables I could suggest but I wouldn't recommend them for putting in your pocket. China is the best place to source them given the vape tax and issues in the US. Here's a few websites you can browse...
Sourcemore.com
3fvape.com
Fasttech.com
Healthcabin.com
3Avape.com
Good luck

 

[tokarev]

I have purchased 510 to Ego adapters from Fasttech, although they appear out of stock at the moment. They also list some Evod clearomizers that may or may not be in stock. They also carry other similar clearos that will use the same coils AND they carry the replacement coils as well. Fasttech is in China and often is out of stock on things I'm looking for, but they will ship pretty much anywhere. Shipping from China takes a bit longer but I've ordered from them for years and with only one exception I have always received my orders eventually.

I have a couple hundred Kanger T3S coils I bought from Fasttech because they seem to be a "universal" fit for all the Kanger single bottom coil devices (Protank, Evod, etc.) and a few other brands too. I have a small stock of old Smok clearos with 510 (not Ego) connectors and the T3S coils fit those as well.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

You have to watch with some of those clearomizers that look like they take EVOD/Protank coils. For instance, H2 clearomizers. The coils look the same as EVOD/Protank 1&2/MT32/SOCC coils but the part that goes into the chimney H2 coil is slightly thinner than the EVOD/Protank 1&2/MT32/SOCC coils so the EVOD/Protank 1&2/MT32/SOCC coils won't fit into the chimney of most, if not all H2 clearos. Kanger T3S coils will fit an H2 because the part that fits into the chimney is slightly thinner than a EVOD/Protank 1&2/MT32/SOCC coil

 

[englishmick]

Considering the price of the coils, I am better off just sticking with the nJoy. $3 per pod, plus a bonus 2ml of juice. The batteries are only 99¢. Maybe I should just look at rebuilding coils again.

Every website I try to order from, I get a message saying they can't ship to my state. Looks like I will need to go a brick & mortar shop and look around. It's insane how quickly the laws are changing, and in the very wrong direction.

@Letitia Finding the Kanger EVOD tanks is the issue I am running into. Nobody sells them anymore.

You can still get stuff from China, they don't care about State rules, but there's no guarantee that will continue to be the case. And with the FDA approval process going on there's no guarantee that anything much will be available at B&M stores. They only approved one device so far and stores won't be able to stay in business if only a handful of devices are approved. It might be throwaways only, nothing you can refill or replace the coils on.

In your position I would assume there is only a limited window to buy hardware. So go for stuff you can buy now and maintain into the future. Mods with removeable batteries, and tanks you can replace the coils in yourself. Or else buy enough coil heads for however long you think you might want to vape.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

The Vuse Solo, in tobacco flavors, will likely be available everywhere cigarettes are sold as long as it's profitable for RJ Reynolds to keep producing it.

 

[spaceballsrules]

Thanks to everyone for all the replies.

I think I will stick with the nJoy Ace for the time being. The pods are the same price or less expensive than replacement coils for most devices, and the batteries are practically free. I have already figured out how to open the pods so I can refill them, which is relatively simple.

The next step will be to figure out refill juice and where to buy it. I can't even get Halo Tribeca delivered to me!? If I figure out how to source nicotine, I can switch to DIY. I can get everything else I need from Amazon and Bull City Flavors. Until then, the juice in the Ace pods will have to do.

I am still just completely flabbergasted at how much the vaping scene has changed in such a short time. Pretty much every vendor I used to rely on has gone belly up or won't ship to me. Devices are crazy high power output and delivery systems are crazy low resistance. WTH are nic salts? I'm not even going to get started on the coil building scene.

It seems our elected officials have completely failed at looking out for the greater good. I don't know whose purposes they are serving (big tobacco lobbyists), but they sure aren't serving mine in any meaningful way. Shame on them!At least the children are safe, am I right?

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

If I figure out how to source nicotine, I can switch to DIY.

List of US Retailers Still Shipping 100mg Nicotine Base | E-Cigarette Forum

I think I will stick with the nJoy Ace for the time being.

That's fine so long as you understand that it may just be now or never, so there may be no such thing as "for the time being".

It seems our elected officials have completely failed at looking out for the greater good.

They never did. It was always an illusion and a fallacy.